Sunday, January 31, 2010

ENERGY RESOURCES: FOSSIL FUELS 2

Energy Resources

Fossil fuels

Crude oil (called "petroleum") is easier to get out of the ground than coal, as it can flow along pipes. This also makes it cheaper to transport.

I ought to point out that some scientists are claiming that oil is not a 'fossil' fuel - that it is not the remains of prehistoric organisms after all. They claim it was made by some other, non-biological process. Currently this is not accepted by the majority of scientists,

Natural gas provides around 20% of the world's consumption of energy, and as well as being burnt in power stations, is used by many people to heat their homes.It is easy to transport along pipes, and gas power stations produce comparatively little pollution.

Advantages

Very large amounts of electricity can be generated in one place using coal, fairly cheaply.

Transporting oil and gas to the power stations is easy.

Gas-fired power stations are very efficient.

A fossil-fuelled power station can be built almost anywhere, so long as you can get large quantities of fuel to it. Didcot power station, in Oxfordshire, has a dedicated rail link to supply the coal.

Disadvantages

Basically, the main drawback of fossil fuels is pollution.Burning any fossil fuel produces carbon dioxide, which contributes to the "greenhouse effect", warming the Earth.

Burning coal produces more carbon dioxide than burning oil or gas.It also produces sulphur dioxide, a gas that contributes to acid rain. We can reduce this before releasing the waste gases into the atmosphere.

Mining coal can be difficult and dangerous. Strip mining destroys large areas of the landscape.

Coal-fired power stations need huge amounts of fuel, which means train-loads of coal almost constantly. In order to cope with changing demands for power, the station needs reserves.This means covering a large area of countryside next to the power station with piles of coal.

Is it renewable?

Fossil fuels are not a renewable energy resource.Once we've burned them all, there isn't any more, and our consumption of fossil fuels has nearly doubled every 20 years since 1900.This is a particular problem for oil, because we also use it to make plastics and many other products.

www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/fossil.htm

NB2I gave you the exams you had done the week before and checked the answers.Homework: Grammar unit15 ,17Speaking: Have you ever ...? and the simple past to know more specific informationListening: song: "True Blue" by Madonna. Lyrics and audio. "Just Shopping" Two women who have been shopping meet and talk about clothes. Exercises, script and audioGrammar: A photocopy about the present perfect and the simple past.HomeworK: I´ll collect the compositions you didn´t do for Thursday. Last call.workbook.p. 31,32,NI2I gave you the exams you had done the week before and checked the answers.Homework:Workbook.p.30,31,32. Grammar. Unit 29 about may,might and could.Grammar: a handout about connectorsListening: st.B.p. 52. Section 4A "Clothes to die for". two people being interviewed about their taste in clothes. A who -says-what exercises and secondly another to listen more in detail.Vocabulary: St.b.p. 151 . Words related to fashion, items of clothing and materials , shapes and adjectives describing clothes. Test your partner.Speaking: St.B.p. 52 ."You and your Clothes" To make a speech following and linking one question to the following.Homework: Reading: St.b.p. 53, activities a,b,c.. Modal verbs , the end of the murder case. Please, focus on modals of possibility and deduction.

About this blog

My name's Ana Mª de Torres . I currently work at Langreo EOI as an English teacher and this blog has been specially designed for my students who, for whatever reason, can't come to class regularly.

Here they'll find the activities carried out in the classroom and a variety of articles and interesting links to broadnen their knowledge of the language and culture of the many countries English is spoken in.